Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPB)

Rail freightPublic Appointments in DfT

The Department sponsors the following executive non-departmental public bodies:

Directly Operated Railways Ltd

Directly Operated Railways (DOR) was established by the Department of Transport in July 2009. It fulfils the Secretary of State’s requirements under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993 to secure the continued provision of passenger railway services should an existing franchise not be able to complete its full term.

At present the company currently has one wholly subsidiary called East Coast Main Line Company Limited (East Coast) which operates passenger rail services on the East Coast Main Line between London and Scotland under a services agreement with the Department for Transport. East Coast was created following the termination of a franchise agreement entered into in December 2007 that the Department entered into with the National Express in December 2007. It is intended that DOR will retain East Coast as a subsidiary until a new franchise to operate services on the East Coast Main Line is let to the private sector.

For more information on DOR please visit the company’s website at Directly Operated Railways

High Speed Two Limited (HS2 Ltd)

This is the company set up by the Government to consider the case for new high speed rail services between London and Scotland.

HS2 Ltd was established in January 2009 to look at the feasibility of, and business case for, a new high speed rail line between London and the West Midlands; and to consider the case for high speed rail services linking London, northern England and Scotland.

We delivered a report to Ministers at the end of 2009 which was published in March 2010.

On 28 February 2011 the Secretary of State for Transport launched the consultation on Government’s proposed high speed rail strategy and the recommended route for an initial high speed line from London to the West Midlands.

You can find further information, including the consultation document and route maps, on the HS2 consultation website.

For more information and FAQs on HS2 go to the Department for Transport website.

British Transport Police Authority (BTP Authority)

BTPA is the independent body responsible for ensuring an efficient and effective British Transport Police force for rail operators, their staff and passengers in England, Scotland and Wales. It is based as much as possible on the set up of a local Police Authority, but it also takes into account the national structure and industry served by the Force. The fifteen members of the police authority oversee the police force, set its targets and allocate funds for its budget.

The BTP Authority was established on 1 July 2004 under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003. The Authority has a statutory duty to maintain an efficient and effective police force for the railways.

In addition to enforcing law and order on the GB railway system the BTP is also responsible for pursuing any possible criminal prosecutions following a rail accident.  In certain cases, this includes prosecutions under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The British Transport Police Force is funded by the rail industry and the Authority is responsible for setting its annual budget. The Chair of the Authority and other members, consisting of a mix of industry and non-industry members, are appointed directly by the Secretary of State.

BTPA has 15 members representing a mix of passenger and industry interests. They are supported by a Secretariat based in London.

BTP is currently overseen by the BTP Authority, a non-departmental public body responsible to DfT Ministers.

Trinity House Lighthouse Service (THLS)

Under part VII, Section 193 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 THLS is responsible for the provision and maintenance of marine aids to navigation around the coasts of England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar. It also marks wrecks and has wreck removal powers. It is funded by light dues collected at ports around the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

Northern Lighthouse Board

The Northern Lighthouse Board’s aim is to provide reliable, low-maintenance and cost effective networks of aids to navigation, backed by a safe, efficient, economic and professional support organisation.

Their principal concern is with safety: the safety of the mariner at sea; the safety of our own people employed in or around some of the world’s most dangerous coastlines; and the safety of environment in which we, and those who come after us, must live and work.

Passenger Focus

Passenger Focus is the operating name for the new Rail Passengers Council (RPC) which was established on 24th July 2005 by the Railways Act 2005. The RPC works on behalf of rail passengers across Great Britain and is a body corporate, executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Transport. The duties and constitution of the RPC are principally set out in the Railways Act 1993 and in the Railways Act 2005.

Passenger focus has 13 board members and over 50 staff working out of two offices in London and Manchester.

Railway Heritage Committee (RHC)

The role of the RHC is to identify railway records and artefacts of future value to the nation, in the general interest of the public, for research and scholarship and to ensure they reside in good condition, in appropriate locations. Once identified, the RHC has the function of designating those records and artefacts (or classes of record or artefact) which are historically significant and should be permanently preserved. Once designated, the owner of artefacts and records may only dispose of them once they have sought permission from the RHC.

Sponsorship of the RHC transferred to the Department for Transport on 21 November 2005 from the Strategic Rail Authority, when it became an executive Non-Departmental Public Body directly accountable to the Secretary of State for Transport.

The Railway Heritage Committee is currently chaired on an Acting basis by Peter Ovenstone, otherwise Company Secretary of the Heritage Railway Association.

Advisory non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs)

The Department sponsors the following advisory non-departmental public bodies.

Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC)

DPTAC was set up under the Transport Act 1985 to advise the Secretary of State for Transport on the transport needs of disabled people. The Committee also has a non-statutory role to advise on access to the built environment and on planning issues. Its membership is limited to 20 (plus chair) and at least half the members must be disabled people.

The aim of DPTAC is to ensure that all disabled people can go where everyone else goes and that they can do so easily and without extra cost.

Tribunals non-departmental public bodies

The Department sponsors the following tribunals.

Traffic Commissioners and Deputies

The eight Traffic Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of State for the Transport and have responsibility in their area for:

  • The licensing of the operators of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and of buses and coaches (Public Service Vehicles or PSVs).
  • The registration of local bus services.
  • Granting vocational licences and taking action against drivers of HGVs and PSVs.

The Traffic Commissioner for Scotland is also responsible for dealing with both appeals against decisions by Scottish local authorities on taxi fares, with appeals against charging and removing improperly parked vehicles in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Commissioners are statutorily independent in their licensing functions. When necessary, they hold Public Inquiries, in particular to consider the environmental suitability of HGV operating centres and the possibility of disciplinary action against operators who have not observed the conditions of their licences.

Public corporations

The Department sponsors the following public corporations:

BRB (Residuary) Ltd

BRB (Residuary) Ltd is a limited company which was created in 2001 as a subsidiary of the Strategic Rail Authority to manage the majority of the remaining property, rights and liabilities of the British Railways Board. Those responsibilities include the management of a diverse property portfolio and the settlement of industrial injury claims submitted by former British Railways employees. Following the decision to wind-up the SRA the company has been transferred to the Department for Transport and is now a wholly owned subsidiary company. By virtue of a Transfer Scheme made under the Railways Act 2005, BRBR has also taken ownership of a number of companies previously owned by the SRA. As such, BRBR is responsible for managing these companies.

The company is funded through a combination of income earned on property activities and departmental subsidy. BRBR is classified for government accounting purposes as a Public Corporation.

Trust Ports

Trust ports are independent statutory bodies, each governed by its own, unique, local legislation and controlled by an independent board. Their common feature is their unique status as trusts. There are no shareholders or owners. Any surplus is ploughed back into the port for the benefit of the stakeholders of the trust. The stakeholders are all those using the port, employees of both the port and its users and all those individuals, organisations and groups having an interest (not necessarily pecuniary) in the operation of the port.

Civil Aviation Authority

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which is a public corporation, was established by Parliament in 1972 as an independent specialist aviation regulator and provider of air traffic services. Following the separation of National Air Traffic Services from the CAA in 2001, CAA is the UK’s independent aviation regulator, with all civil aviation regulatory functions (economic regulation, airspace policy, safety regulation and consumer protection) integrated within a single specialist body. The CAA’s costs are met entirely from its charges on those whom it regulates.

Other organisations/central government entities

Office of Rail Regulation (ORR)

The Office of Rail Regulation is the independent safety and economic regulator for Britain’s railways.

ORR is responsible for managing and enforcing railway related health and safety legislation.

The ORR is led by a Board appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport.

The Board contains a mix of executive and non-executive directors. Anna Walker is the non-executive chairman. The Board is responsible for setting ORR’s strategy and overseeing its efficient, effective and economic delivery.

An Agency agreement (PDF – 146 KB)has been put in place between the Secretary of State for Transport and the Office of Rail Regulation under paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the Railways Act 2005. The Agency Agreement allows the Office of Rail Regulation to perform certain safety related functions on behalf of the Secretary of State as part of its wider rail safety role. The Agency Agreement came in to effect on 20 October 2008. A similar Agency Agreement existed between DfT and HSE, before HMRI transferred to ORR in April 2006.

Her Majesty’s Rail Inspectorate (HMRI), which is part of the Office of Rail Regulation, will investigate railway accidents to establish whether obligations under health and safety law have been met by the railway organisations involved. HMRI have powers to issue enforcement or improvement notices or to prosecute breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA). The maximum penalty for a successful prosecution is an unlimited fine.

The Channel Tunnel Safety Authority is an independent, bi-national body that reports through the Channel Tunnel Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) to both the UK and French Governments, on all matters relating to safety in the operation of the Channel Tunnel Fixed Link.

The UK Secretariat to the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority is housed within the Office of Rail Regulation. The Secretariat’s duties are to provide support to the UK Head and members of the UK Delegation.

Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership

The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership is an action and advisory group, established in 2003 to take a lead in accelerating the shift to low carbon vehicles and fuels in the UK and to help ensure that UK business can benefit from that shift.

The LowCVP is a partnership of over 300 organisations from the automotive and fuel industries, the environmental sector, government, academia, road user groups and other organisations with a stake in the low carbon vehicles and fuels agenda.

London and Continental Railways

LCR Finance plc

No website.

CTRL Section 1 Finance plc

No website.

Standing Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment (dormant)